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David Rowland
Francis
In 1899, Francis led a group in St. Louis that
represented all of the Louisiana Purchase states.
The group decided to celebrate the one hundredth
anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase in St. Louis.
In April 1901, Francis was elected president of the
Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company and went on
to help plan the St. Louis 1904 World's Fair. His
many talents provided vision, enthusiasm and energy
to this great endeavor.
After the Fair, Francis became a candidate for
election to the United States Senate, but he lost
in the Democratic primary to James A. Reed. After
his defeat, Francis was appointed Ambassador to
Russia by President Wilson. He served for two
years.
Francis died on January 15, 1927. He left behind
his wife and six sons. Francis is buried in
Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.
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David Rowland Francis was born on October 1,
1850, in Richmond, Kentucky. At the age of sixteen,
Francis came to St. Louis to attend Washington
University. He took the four-year classical
curriculum and graduated in 1880 with a Bachelor of
Arts degree. He moved back to Kentucky and started
the D.R. Francis & Brother Commission Company.
Later, he and the company moved to St. Louis.
Francis was elected the mayor of St. Louis in
1885. He won by 1,527 votes. He served the City of
St. Louis as mayor until 1888 when he was elected
Governor of Missouri.
During his term as Governor of Missouri, Francis
led a group to Washington D.C. They wanted to get
the Columbian Exposition to be held in St. Louis,
but St. Louis had poor facilities at this time so
the Exposition was held in Chicago.
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Theodore
Roosevelt
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After the war, Roosevelt became governor of New
York as a member of the Republican Party. From the
governorship, he went on to become the Vice
President of the United States under President
William McKinley. Six months after President
McKinley's second term in office, September 6,
1901, McKinley was shot by an assassin and Theodore
Roosevelt became president of the United States
that same day.
Roosevelt served as president of the United
States for two terms. His children became known as
the "White House Gang". He allowed his children to
bring animals into the White House including a
snake and pony. His daughter Alice became known as
"Princess Alice".
Roosevelt left the presidency in March, 1909. He
went to Africa to hunt big game. In 1912, Roosevelt
decided to run for presidency again, but President
Woodrow Wilson won.
Roosevelt visited the Brazilian jungle in 1914
and caught a jungle fever. After all his exciting
ventures, he died very quickly on January 6, 1919,
from a blood clot in the heart. He is buried near
Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay, New York, and his
second wife, Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt died in
1948 and is buried by him.
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Theodore Roosevelt was born in New York on
October 27, 1858. Because of bad health, he was
taught by private tutors. He worked very hard to
become strong and get over the asthma he had as a
boy. He grew up loving the outdoors and reading
books. When he was ten and fourteen years old,
Theodore visited Europe and the Middle East. When
he was eighteen years old, Roosevelt became a
student at Harvard University. Next, he went to
Columbia University Law School.
He decided to go into politics and became a
member of the New York State Legislature. Roosevelt
was a hard worker and people respected his energy,
courage, and intelligence.
Roosevelt married Alice Hathaway Lee and they
had one daughter named Alice. It was a sad period
for Roosevelt because his wife died two days after
their daughter was born and then his mother died.
Very upset, Roosevelt decided to leave politics. He
became a rancher and a writer. Later he tired of
ranching and moved back to New York.
On February, 1898, Cuba shot and sank the
battleship Maine. Roosevelt resigned his job and
began the famous group of soldiers called the Rough
Riders. The Rough Riders went off to fight in the
Spanish American War. Edith Kermit Carow became his
second wife. They had five children. The new Mrs.
Roosevelt raised his daughter, Alice. He went back
into politics and held different offices. He worked
very hard to get President William McKinley into
office and McKinley gave him the job of Assistant
Secretary of the Navy.
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John Philip
Sousa
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"Sousa's Band" soon became very popular.
His band was known throughout Europe and America.
The band played many times at the St. Louis World's
Fair in 1904. Later in 1910, the band started a
world tour.
Sousa returned to the military. In 1917,
Sousa became the leader of the United States Navy.
He lead a very active musical life. He died in
1932.
Sousa was famous for military marches because
he gave them his own special style. The best known
marches are: "The Washington Post" and "The Stars
and Stripes Forever."
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Sousa was born in 1854 and grew up to become a
famous American band leader, composer, and writer
of five novels. He was born in Washington, D.C. His
parents could afford music lessons but didn't have
enough money to send him to Europe to study music
like other famous composers. He studied violin and
harmony.
Sousa began his first job when he was seventeen
years old. He played in theaters and dance
orchestras. Sousa also toured with a variety show.
He went on to write the operetta, "The Smugglers"
and others. He wrote both the words and music. His
most famous operetta was "El Capitan" (1896).
In 1880, John Philip Sousa became the leader of
the United States Marine Band. Under his
leadership, the band became very popular. His
famous marches were written for his band. He left
the Marine Band in 1892 and began his own band.
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Scott Joplin
Joplin's later life was sad. After he moved
to New York in 1907, ragtime music lost its
popularity. Joplin became very depressed and
entered a hospital in 1917 where he died.
The movie "The Sting" (1973) brought back his
music for a new generation. His famous rags were
played throughout the movie. Then in 1976, the
Pulitzer Prize Advisory Board awarded Joplin's
memory a special citation for his gift to American
music.
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Scott Joplin was an American composer who was
well known for ragtime music. The "Maple Leaf Rag"
was a upbeat song that brought him fame. When he
was twenty six years old, Joplin played in a saloon
called the Maple Leaf Club in Sedalia, Missouri.
He was a great ragtime pianist and his music was
written mostly for the piano.
Joplin was an African American. He started
his life as the son of a former slave in Texarkana,
Texas. He left home at an early age and earned his
living by playing the piano in saloons. John
Stark, an owner of a music store in Sedalia,
Missouri, helped him publish "Maple Leaf Rag."
Joplin was inspired to write a piece of music
called "Cascades" after visiting the 1904 St. Louis
World's Fair. He later published more music.
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John C. Danforth
In August, 1996, Danforth became Chairman of
"St. Louis 2004," a twelve county, citizen-based
group working to make improvements in the economic
growth, education, health care, arts, culture, and
citizenship of St. Louis.
Mr. Danforth continued his hard work by
becoming chairman of the Danforth Foundation in the
spring of 1997. The foundation is an organization
established by his grandparents in 1927.
Danforth also serves on the boards of the
"Commission on Presidential Debates" and the
"Concord Coalition. "
He stays active in the business world by
serving on the corporate boards of Center
Corporation, the Dow Chemical Company and General
American Life Insurance Company.
Danforth and his wife, Sally Dobson Danforth,
live in St. Louis County. They have five children
and several grandchildren.
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A fifth generation Missourian, John C. Danforth
was born on September 5, 1936, in St. Louis. He
was raised in Clayton, Missouri, a suburb of St.
Louis City. Danforth attended high school in the
St. Louis area and graduated with honors from
Princeton University in 1958. In 1963, Danforth
earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Yale
Divinity School and a Bachelor of Laws degree from
Yale Law School. Before running for public office,
Danforth work as a lawyer in New York City and St.
Louis, MO.
Danforth was elected Attorney General of
Missouri in 1968. This was the first statewide
victory for a Republican in more than twenty years.
He was re-elected Attorney General in 1972. Danforth was elected to
the United States Senate in 1976, and re-elected in
1982 and 1988. He served in the United States
Senate for eighteen years. Before retiring at the
end of 1994, he ranked 21st in seniority among the
senators.
Danforth keeps very busy since his retirement
from the United States Senate. He is the president
of "Interfaith Action for Children Today," a
not-for-profit organization founded by him in
January, 1995. This organization is for church
members of all faiths and has been set up to help
inner city youth.
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